Colorado Farmer Finds Continued Success with KUHN Krause Grain Drills
Allen Einsphar, Holyoke, Colo., uses a KUHN Krause 5200-36 grain drill to seed down his wheat and millet. He likes that the drill is easy to use and setup, in addition to the way the seed comes up. He used his drill to plant over 2,500 acres this past year.
Colorado Farmer Finds Continued Success with KUHN Krause Grain Drills
Allen Einsphar and his wife, Amy, farm 3,000 acres of corn, wheat and millet in Holyoke, Colo.
His latest and fourth grain drill from KUHN Krause, the 5200-36, is working well and this year was used to plant more than 2,500 acres.
Einsphar has had this particular grain drill for about a year, but bought his first Krause drill in 1998. Since the addition of Krause to KUHN, Einsphar is happy the quality of the equipment has remained consistent.
"I really like the quality of their workmanship," he explains. "KUHN puts a lot of iron on the drill so it's heavy and doesn't bend."
He even likes the color better, a bright orange. Einsphar says it helps give him better visibility to drivers during road transport than when the drill was yellow. The high-intensity LEDs on the drill also help.
Another benefit when driving from field to field, or field to farm, is the ease of folding the machine.
To fold the grain drill he manually lifts one piece and the drill then folds automatically to the industry leading 12’10” transport width that is ideal for highway maneuvering.
"It's very simple that way, and it's narrow when it folds up, so it doesn’t take up the entire road," he says.
Einsphar bought his latest KUHN Krause grain drill from Harchelroad Motors in Wauneta, Neb.
"They are great to work with," Einsphar says. "They set it up and put on all of the fertilizer attachments. And for many years, we have had a very good working relationship."
Each drill that he has owned has been 36 feet wide, as big as they come. If it was built bigger, Einsphar says he would be the first in line to order one. The smallest in the KUHN Krause 5200 PRO Series of folding grain drills is 25 feet wide.
As far as production is concerned, Einsphar says that when going 5 miles per hour, he can run the grain drill about 25 acres per hour. At 6 or 7 miles per hour, that number increases to 30 to 40 acres per hour.
"It just depends on the field conditions how fast you can go," Einsphar explains.
He likes the 7.5-inch spacing of the drill, although the drills have a seeding capability for conventional or minimum-till with the Precision Residue Openers (PRO) openers at 6-, 7.5- or 10-inch spacing.
With the 7.5-inch spacing, Einsphar says the ground gets covered quicker than with a wider spaced machine. The PRO design resists plugging and has wrenchless depth adjustment.
"I simply am happy with the way it (KUHN Krause 5200-36 grain drill) works. I like the way the wheat and millet comes up behind it, the ease of using it and setting it up."
The openers on the KUHN Krause 5200 are arranged on the machine with a 6.5-inch stagger for excellent soil and residue flow, which Einsphar says he also likes.
"The wheel in front of the disc blade pushes stalk from the wheat stubble and when you are drilling it just cuts through real nice," he adds.
The maximum hopper capacity of the drill is 143.1 cubic feet. It can hold up to 60 percent seed and 40 percent fertilizer mix.
He likes the large boxes, which hold 3.2 bushels per foot, have a built-in drip rail, sight glass and digital acre meter. These nice sized boxes allow Einsphar to plant longer without stopping to fill them as often, saving him precious time.
At Einsphar Farms, Allen is the main operator using the drill. His dad and brother have other brands on their operations, but this Colorado grain farmer says he keeps going back to the KUHN Krause grain drills. He likes them best.